


National Leave the Office Early Day

by Skeeter_110



Series: Another June Day [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Baby Peter Parker, Dad Peter Parker, Grandpa Tony Stark, Irondad, Kid Peter Parker, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Teen Peter Parker, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeeter_110/pseuds/Skeeter_110
Summary: Five times Tony Stark left the office early for his son, Peter
Relationships: Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Another June Day [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769251
Comments: 15
Kudos: 428
Collections: carolina’s | fics that have been devouRED





	National Leave the Office Early Day

**Author's Note:**

> June 2nd is National Leave the Office Early Day. It's a great incentive to many who often work more than 40 hours each week. Celebrate by leaving work early and enjoy the rest of the day with fun activities of your choosing.

The first time Tony left the office early for his son, was when Peter was six months old. It was also the first time that Tony was working in his office at SI, and not from home, since Peter was born.

It took Pepper weeks of negotiation and just down-right begging to convince Tony to leave Peter with a Nanny and actually attend the meetings that were being held. And – in Tony’s opinion – he was doing pretty good.

Yeah, he would check in every thirty minutes, or whenever the next meeting ended, but he hasn’t had a nervous breakdown like Pepper thought he would, and he hasn’t left yet. So they’re considering it a win.

That was, until the Nanny called _him_ in the middle of a meeting instead of the other way around.

The meeting he currently was in has been going on for an hour and a half, leaving Tony restless and in the dark about what was happening with Peter over the past hour. He’s been yelled at almost thirteen times already – yes he was keeping track, he needed to know how big of an apology gift he needed to get Pepper – and try as he might, he kept thinking about how he hasn’t checked in yet.

So when he saw that it was Peter’s Nanny calling him, he didn’t hesitate to stand up and pause the meeting.

“I’m sorry, but my son’s nanny is calling me. I have to take this.” Tony hastily explains, not even looking back over his shoulder at Pepper before leaving the conference room.

“Hello?” Tony answers, the first thing he hears once the call has connected was Peter’s wailing in the background.

“Mister Stark? I-I know you’re incredibly busy and that you were probably in a meeting, but you also told me to call if there was something wrong and-“ The young Woman rants, not helping to quell the rising panic in Tony’ chest.

“Amanda, what’s wrong with Peter?” Tony interrupts, effectively stopping the Woman’s’ nervous ramblings.

“I-I’m not sure. I fed him, I changed him, there can’t be anything else he wants. I was just playing with him and he just randomly started crying and now I can’t get him to stop.” Amanda explains, her tone of voice giving evidence of her inexperience.

“How long has he been crying like that?” Tony questions, his heart breaking when he heard Peter let out a particularly loud wail.

“An hour.” Amanda hesitantly answers in a small voice.

“ _An hour?_ And you only thought now to call me?” Tony all but shouts, barely reeling his emotions in. It wasn’t her fault that he was stressed from being away from his baby all day.

“I’m sorry! I just know how busy you are and I thought I could calm him down, but it wasn’t until an hour of trying technique after technique that I realized he wasn’t going to calm down and that I should call you, and-“

“I’m on my way now. Just… calm yourself down, and then try to get Pete calm.” Tony says, forcing his voice to be softer before quickly hanging up and shooting Pepper a quick text before leaving.

If Tony was going to be perfectly honest, he got to his house a lot quicker than he should of, but – if he was still being perfectly honest – he couldn’t find it in himself to really care. If it meant getting there when Peter needed him, he would break all the laws.

When he walked through the front door, he could still hear Peter crying, although it wasn’t as loud and piercing as it was before; it was more like he was too tired to continue crying but didn’t want to stop.

Amanda was standing in the middle of the living room, cradling Peter close to her and rocking him back and forth, clearly exhausted and just wanting Peter to calm down. The living room was also a mess, a true testament to how much Amanda tried to get the six-month-old to calm down.

Peter let out a whiny squeal when he caught a glimpse of Tony over Amanda’s shoulder, reaching his chubby little fingers out for Tony to take.

“Hey, Bambino.” Tony greets, taking Peter from the Nanny once she turned around.

“Mister Stark, I really truly am sorry.” Amanda tried to apologize, Tony stopping her by holding his hand up.

“Don’t be. Honestly, you saved me. I had no idea how much longer I was going to last in those meetings without actually seeing Peter.” Tony says, giving the younger Woman a small smile, which made her visibly relax and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Hey, Bambino. What’s the matter, huh? Quale è il problema?” Tony asks, looking down at the baby in his arms, who was beginning to settle down now.

“It looks like he just missed you.” Amanda softly comments, Tony giving Peter a gentle smile as he snuggled him closer.

“Aww, did you miss me, Baby? I missed you too; I don’t like being away from you for so long.” Tony whispers, chuckling softly when Peter let out one final whine before burying his face in Tony’s neck.

Later that day after Tony sent Amanda home with twice the pay he normally would give her, and after he and Peter both had a nap together on the couch, Pepper came over to – probably – yell at him.

When she came in, the two Stark boys were still laying on the couch, both of them content to just lay there after their nap, Peter sitting on Tony’s chest and playing with his sunglasses.

“You couldn’t last just one day, could you?” Pepper asks, trying to appear mad as she places her hands on her hips.

“What? It was an emergency.” Tony defends, causing Pepper to let out a disbelieving laugh.

“An emergency counts as him having to go to the hospital, not him missing you.” Pepper says, Tony rolling his eyes at the fact that _of course_ Pepper got Amanda to tattle on the real reason he came home.

“Oh, come on, Pep. I mean, look at this face. Tony says, picking Peter up and turning him to face Pepper squeezing his sides a bit to get him to smile. “You mean to tell me that if this face missed you, you wouldn’t come running to it?” Tony asks, knowing that he was playing downright dirty by using Peter against her; but he’ll do anything to make sure he got out of trouble.

Pepper’s face instantly softened when Peter let out a little giggle, Tony knowing he won this argument when she slowly came over and took the small bundle out of his arms.

“I’m still mad that you left in the middle of that meeting, but maybe we can work on just easing you back into work. For Peter’s sake.” Pepper says, Tony reveling in the peals of laughter Peter lets out when Pepper begins tickling him.

* * *

The second time Tony left the office early for his son was when Peter was six-years-old.

He was currently sitting in his office, practically swimming in new contracts that he needed to read and sign. At this point, Tony was wishing for anything to happen just so he could get out of it.

Of course, that was when his phone started ringing with a call from Peter's school.

Tony only allowed himself to panic for a second before answering.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Peter’s Father, Mr. Stark?” The secretary asks, sounding a bit frazzled.

“Yes, this is.” Tony answers, unsure of where this was going, or what was wrong with Peter, but wishing they would quickly get to the point.

“Mr. Stark, I’m afraid that Peter got injured at recess and we need you to come to the school.” The secretary tells him, making him jump up and leave his office right away.

“I’m on my way.” Tony quickly says, hanging up the phone before the secretary could say anything else.

What seemed to be in a blink of an eye, Tony was at the school, running down the hall to the office. The secretary looked almost as stressed out as Tony felt having Peter injured. Or maybe she was just afraid of what Tony would do – he could never tell.

“Peter is in the nurse’s office right through those doors.” The secretary says, pointing towards a set of doors right next to the office. Tony, without saying anything, swiftly left the office and made his way into the nurse’s office.

As soon as he walked in, all he could see was Peter’s tear stained face and the fact that his arm was in a sling. As soon as the two Starks made eye contact, Peter began sobbing again, making Tony coo and quickly walk over to his son.

“Aww, Bambino, what happened?” Tony asks, gently pulling Peter into his arms, being careful not to jostle the boy’s arm.

“I was trying to reach the monkey bars and I fell.” Peter wailed, Tony letting out a slightly exasperated sigh.

“Pete, we’ve talked about this. You have to wait until you grow a bit more so you can reach.” Tony tells his son for what felt like the millionth time. 

Unfortunately, it seemed that Peter inherited, not only his shortness, but also his stubbornness to do something he’s told he can’t do. Instead of continuing to try to get Peter to understand, Tony just shook his head and gently lifted his son up.

“I’m sure your lessoned is learned now, so let’s go get that arm checked out and then have an ice cream movie night. Sound good?” Tony asks, Peter giving an exhausted nod before snuggling his head under his Dad’s chin as they walked out.

* * *

The third time Tony had to leave the office early was when Peter was fourteen.

This time, it wasn’t Tony exactly to get the call, it was Pepper. Tony was for once enjoying and relaxing on his lunch break, not even paying attention to his phone. It also didn’t help that his phone was put on silent due to a meeting he had previously.

As soon as Pepper came into his office though, his lunch break was no longer relaxing, the tension radiating off of the woman and changing the atmosphere of the room.

“What’s wrong? I was good during the meeting; you can’t yell at me. I paid attention and everything.” Tony says, instantly going into defensive mode.

“No, Tony, this isn’t about the meeting. I just got a call from Peter’s school since they couldn’t get through to you.” Pepper says, turning the tension Tony felt into anxiety.

“Why? Is he okay?”

“No, he’s suspended for a week. He got into a fight.” Pepper says, confusing Tony. Out of all the reasons the school could be calling for, Peter getting into a fight was not one Tony thought was ever going to happen.

“What? _Peter_? _My_ Peter? As in the same kid that cried when he found out I killed a fly and refused to talk to me for four days? _That_ Peter?” Tony asks incredulously.

“Yes. Your son apparently got into a fight and is getting suspended.” Pepper responds, her tone giving hint into how disbelieving she actually is about this whole situation too.

“What do I do? This wasn’t something I thought I had to be prepared for.”

“Well, for starters, you should probably go pick up your kid and figure out what needs to be done from there.” Pepper says, finally getting Tony to come to his senses and put his coat on.

Tony’s mind couldn’t stop racing the entire drive over to Midtown. Never in a million years did he think that his sweet innocent Peter would ever get into a fight. And yes, Tony knows that most parents think this about their children – that they’re sweet and innocent and wouldn’t do such a thing – but in this case, he was right.

Peter has never been one to fight his problems with violence. He’s always been able to calmly come up with the best way to fix an altercation with words, never with his fists. He was too gentle of a person.

The first thing Tony noticed when he got to the office at Peter’s school was how awful his son looked. His eye was already starting to bruise and there was dried blood smeared under his nose.

The second thing he noticed, was the guilty look on Peter’s face when he looked up at Tony. Peter, thankfully, has never been a good liar, this being due to how much just a simple look could tell him. If Peter did something he knew was wrong, Tony almost automatically knew. And right now, Tony could automatically see the regret in Peter’s eyes.

The third thing Tony noticed was the other boy sitting down next to Peter. He looked significantly less beat up, which proved to Tony even more that this was a last resort for Peter. He also looked like one of those stuck-up bullies that would most likely start the fight first – although that opinion might be slightly biased in Tony’s eyes – which also led Tony to the conclusion that this was self-defense and Peter didn’t just get into a fight for no reason.

“I’m so sorry, Dad.” Peter whispers once Tony walked up to him, tears already beginning to pool in his eyes.

“I know you are.” Tony gently says before turning to the secretary. “Is he free to go?”

“Yes, you’re free to take him home. Mr. Stark is suspended for a week due to our no tolerance policy, but he will still be required to get his homework from his teachers and is expected to turn them in when he gets back.” The secretary explains, Tony nodding and leaning down to grab Peter’s backpack.

“Let’s go, Pete.” Tony says, walking out with Peter following him, looking like a dejected puppy the whole way to the car.

“Dad, I-“ Peter instantly began to defend himself once they were both buckled in the car, Tony cutting him off.

“Are you okay?” Peter clearly wasn’t expecting Tony to seem so calm about this whole situation, so he just stared for a bit before nodding at his Dad’s question.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. The nurse gave me ice, s-so… it doesn’t hurt much.” Peter responds, mumbling towards the end before giving Tony a confused look. “Aren’t you mad?” Peter hesitantly asks, Tony sighing at the question as he starts the car.

“I can’t technically be mad if I don’t know what happened.” Tony prompts.

“I didn’t mean to get into a fight. That guy that was in the office with me slapped this girl’s butt when she walked passed him in the hallway, and I yelled at him for it; telling him how wrong it was to treat a girl like that. He wasn’t too happy and decided to use violence to tell me so. But I couldn’t just let him do that to a girl! I mean, that’s borderline sexual assault, isn’t it?” Peter explains, his tone getting defensive at the end, as if Tony wouldn’t agree with his decision.

“I’m proud of you, Pete.” Tony says, clearly stunning Peter. Out of all of the things he was prepared for his Dad to feel towards him – anger, disappointment, sadness – pride was not one of them.

“Wh-What? Why? I got into a fight, I got suspended for a week. Shouldn’t you be yelling at me right now? Telling me how grounded I am?” Peter asks incredulously.

“Am I happy that you got suspended? No. But, I’m not mad at _you_ about it, I’m mad at your school’s ‘no tolerance policy’ for punishing you for standing up for another student and yourself. I’m proud of you, though, Pete, because you stood up for that girl; you did what was right. I couldn’t ask for anything better from you.” Tony explains, giving his son a reassuring smile.

“Now, how about we get you some ice for that eye, then go get some cheeseburgers and ice cream to eat with our movie night?” Tony offers, making Peter let out a relieved laugh.

“I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, Tesoro.”

* * *

The fourth time tony left the office early was when Peter was eighteen. 

This time, Tony had actually planned on leaving the office early, but the reason for it didn’t make leaving any easier. 

Honestly, this was the only time Tony was going to wish for the time at the office to move slow because the very last thing he wanted to do right now was to go home.

The very last thing Tony wanted right now, was to go and help ship his son off to college.

Don’t get him wrong, Tony is extremely proud of his son. Peter managed to graduate Midtown with a 4.0, and got into MIT by himself without needing Tony’s influence. But MIT was three-and-a-half-hours away from Manhattan and Tony wasn’t quite ready to live that far away from his boy; his boy, who was no longer a boy.

Tony sighed, leaning back against the wall of the elevator, closing his eyes and trying to maintain his cool. At least until Peter was gone. After, he could cry all he wanted to Rhodey and Pepper about it.

Tony slowly walked over to his son’s room once the elevator doors opened, his heart feeling heavy as he looked at the no some-what empty room. Peter looked up from where he was taping up a box, the small smile he was wearing falling once he looked at his Dad.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re going to make me cry and I’ve been doing good avoiding that.” Peter says, pulling a small chuckle out of Tony.

“Come give me a hug then.” Tony says, Peter being quick to fall into his father’s arms. The two Starks stood there for a bit, both of them trying to fight off the tears that were threatening to spill. “I’m proud of you, Pete.” Tony whispers before planting a kiss on the young adult’s forehead.

“It’s going to be okay. It’s not that far if you take the Iron Man suit and I’ll definitely be coming over on weekends. We’re not that far apart.” Peter reassures, pulling away and wiping the tears that formed in his eyes.

“I know, but I’m still going to miss my little Mimmo.” Tony quietly says, gently running his fingers through his son’s curls.

“I’ll call every night, don’t worry. Because as lame as it sounds, I’m going to miss my Babbo.” Peter admits, picking up the box and making his way out to the elevator while promptly ignoring the squawk that came out of his Father.

“There is nothing lame about wanting to hang out with your Father, thank you very much.” Tony defensively says, making Peter giggle.

“Sure, whatever you say, Dad.” Peter continues to tease.

“You know what, I take it back. I’m not going to miss you at all, you’re a brat.” Tony remarks, making Peter full on laugh before going in for another hug. Tony held him close, breathing in the sweet smell that was distinctly his son one more time. The moment was over too quick, a ping coming from Peter’s phone breaking the bubble of it.

“Is that Ned?” Tony asks, knowing that Ned also got into MIT so the two boys were planning on driving down there themselves together.

“Yeah, he’s here.” Peter sighs, the weight of it all filling the room once more.

“I’ll walk you down.” Tony says, both of them walking into the elevator.

Once they got down to the bottom level, they walked outside to where Ned’s truck was, Ned and Tony giving a brief greeting while Peter put his last box in the trailer they had. Tony instantly pulled his son in for once last hug after he set the box down, Peter eagerly reciprocating it.

“Call me as soon as you get there so I know you made it down safe.” Tony says, Peter giving a small nod before giving one more tight squeeze.

“I love you, Dad.” Peter tells Tony, giving a watery smile when he pulled away.

“I love you too, Bambino.” Tony says, watching with a heavy heart as his son slowly walked away and got into the truck with his best friend. Peter gave a small wave, Tony returning it, before the truck started and pulled it away.

And just like that, his little boy – who was no longer a little boy – was gone.

* * *

The fifth time Tony left the office early was when Peter was twenty-six.

Honestly, Tony has been waiting for this call for nine months now, but he only anticipated getting it during this week; and frankly, said call was late. So, when he did finally get a call from Peter, he began packing away the contracts he was looking at before even answering.

“Hey, Pete, what’s up?” Tony asks with nonchalance, acting as if he had no idea why his son would be calling at noon on a weekday.

_“Hey, Dad. So, no big deal, but M.J and I are on our way to the hospital because her water broke_.” Peter tells him, Tony automatically being able to tell his son was freaking out without even needing to see him.

“Well, it’s kind of a big deal, Pete. You’re becoming a Dad.” Tony teases, chuckling a bit at the strangled sound Peter made. They’ve had this talk many times, and while Peter was ready to become a Dad, and Tony knew that Peter was ready to become a Dad, Peter still couldn’t help but freak out at the thought of it.

_“Okay, yeah, I know it’s a big deal, but if I say that then I’m going to freak out, and the last thing we need is for me to freak out.”_ Peter responds, making Tony chuckle.

“This is you calm?” Tony teases, getting a huff in return. “Just get to the hospital safe, Son. I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Yeah, okay, see you soon.” Peter says, before hanging up.

Tony couldn’t wipe the smile off his face the entire way to the hospital.

* * *

Nineteen hours later, Tony still found himself in the waiting room, waiting for his son to come in and announce the birth of his grandchild. By now, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy were waiting along with him, all ready to see the new addition to the family.

Finally, they saw Peter walking towards them all puffy-eyed and wide-smiled. They all instantly sat up, waiting for the news that Peter held.

“Her name is Teresa Elizabeth Stark-Watson. She’s seven pounds, twelve ounces, both mother and daughter are doing great.” Peter tells them, the waiting room exploding in excitement and congratulations. “You guys are allowed to visit, but one at a time for now.” Peter explains once everyone settled down, looking expectantly at Tony.

“I think that’s your cue, Grandpa.” Pepper teases, patting Tony on the back and laughing when he cringed at the name. Never in a million years did Tony think that he was going to become a Grandfather.

As soon as Peter opened up the door to the room M.J and the baby was in, Tony could hear the little mewls only a precious bundle could make. A fond smile instantly formed on Tony’s face as he saw the squirmy little baby wrapped in M.J’s arms.

“What’s going on, Little Miss?” Peter asks the little one, going over and gently pulling her into his arms. Tony quickly made his way over to where M.J was laying, giving her a tight hug.

“Congratulations, Honey, she’s beautiful.” Tony says, knowing that the small smile M.J gave him held much more meaning than her being thankful.

Peter’s told him a while ago that M.J and her family were never close – that she hasn’t had a Dad in her life since her parents got divorced and that Tony was the closest thing she had to one – so Tony gladly stepped up and took the father-in-law status very seriously.

“Look at the way he already looks at her.” M.J says, nodding her head towards where Peter was changing Teresa’s diaper. There was already so much love in his eyes, Tony knew for sure that all of the doubts Peter felt before this was gone.

“He’s going to spoil the crap out of her I can already tell.” Tony says, both of them chuckling as Peter comes towards them with the newborn.

“Ready to meet your granddaughter?” Peter asks, his smile widening. Everyone was getting way too much mileage out of this whole “Grandpa” thing.

“I’ve been ready for months now.” Tony says, everyone laughing a bit before Peter placed Teresa in Tony’s arms.

Tony couldn’t stop the warmth that spread throughout his chest; although he wasn’t sure if he wanted this feeling to stop. He felt so much love for the sleeping baby that he was holding and he knew almost instantly that he would do anything to protect this little babe from the world; just like he did with her Dad.

“Oh, no. You’re talking about Peter spoiling her, but I know that look. There’s no stopping you, is there?” M.J teases, Tony looking up with a bright smile on his face.

“Oh, yeah. Good luck trying to stop me.” Tony replies, all of them laughing again.

Just like Peter, he would drop everything for this little girl. He would go to the ends of the Earth for her. But, most importantly, just like he did with Peter, he would forever love her.


End file.
